Picture a bad-ass advocate for change, DJ and producer with relentless energy on the decks, unapologetic and raw each and every time. Who did you see? We saw Pinks, and we’re about to tell you why.
Growing up in Camden, London, with a mix of Irish, Indonesian, Dutch and English heritage, Domie has spent her entire life totally immersed in culture. From storytelling through spoken word, poetry and film making to DJing for 6 hours a day at the Roundhouse in the early stages of her obsession, it wasn’t long before her love for the arts spun itself into the artistic excellence that is today.
Domie found her love for bass music through UKF. So, we thought it was only right we had a natter with her to discuss her rise within the electronic music scene, her debut releases, Unorthodox, cockroaches hissing and most importantly, croissants.
Hello Domie, AKA Pinks, how art thou? Nice day? Bit hot isn’t it…
Yeah I’m good, thank you! Yes it is. I’m a bit hayfevery too.
We can suffer together. I thought we’d start off with getting to know YOU as a human being, Domie. Paint me a picture, where are you from, what does your average week look like?
My average week can vary week to week but generally speaking I work in film distribution and sales so I do that for half of the week and I’m also a support worker. Then I’ll have gigs on the weekend and – especially now that it’s festival season – I’ll also have gigs in the week too. Outside of my work, I practice DJing and jump into my production. I also have my Overview mentorship meeting every other week. We get life coaching sessions with that too which is amazing and really appreciated!
Ah I didn’t know they were doing that too, that’s great. We’ll jump into the Overview mentorship in a little bit… Domie, what was your first taste of the music industry and how did things progress from there?
My first taste of the music industry at all would’ve been when I was 14 and I did a holiday course for a week at the roundhouse. I was really focused on drama as a kid so that kind of took over, I went to d&b free parties in my late teens and then I went to film school. I experimented a little bit with producing in 2016, but that was it. Fast forward to 2018, I went to Sun & Bass in Sardinia and it just inspired me so much. Ever since the moment I got home, d&b has been such a big part of my life. A year later, I attended a Hospital Records Women in D&B networking event where I connected with Megan Bean. I sent her some of my music at the time (which was not very good may I say but she was very nice and encouraging) but I didn’t DJ. She said it would definitely enhance my career if I did, so, I went back to the Roundhouse and did the DJ drop in. I remember it really clearly, I was so nervous. I remember the first time I touched the play button, everything changed. It sounds cheesy but I almost felt the music flow through my arms! It was really addictive. From then on, I practiced for around 6 hours every day. I was completely obsessed and because of my ADHD, I just really hyper focused on it, I then had my first gig just before lockdown.
And then everything came to a stop!
Exactly, devastating! I’m really glad I played a gig before lockdown though. I think I would’ve been so much more nervous. Props to the people that did that. I know a few people that had their first gig after lockdown. In a weird way though, lockdown helped my career as if it didn’t happen then I wouldn’t have connected with Just Be and Unorthodox. Especially as Just Be are based in Bristol and I’m based in London. I was connected with Nathan X and Unorthodox through a friend I connected with in lockdown.
I see! Yeah, it definitely helped a load of new artists establish themselves, for sure. Domie – let’s talk about the releases you’ve had this year ‘Oxytocin’ and ‘Cockroach’. Big tunes, both of them.
Thank you! ‘Oxytocin’ was my first release. Just Be had been wanting to release something of mine for a long time but I wasn’t happy with the level of my production until this track. Oxytocin is a love hormone. It’s the hormone you release when you hug people, when you have sex, mothers produce it when they breastfeed their babies. The song is about craving Oxytocin. There’s a sample in it that says ‘I need you’ and it’s like the feeling of craving and needing someone. It’s also associated with having attachment issues. The song is also part of an EP called IWD 97% EP named after the study that found that 97% of women aged between 18-24 in the UK have experience sexual harassment. The EP also raises money for SARSAS which is a charity that work with survivors of sexual abuse. This is important to me because I have my own personal experience of this after dealing with being sexually assaulted and have been very vocal about the issues surrounding this that I have experienced as a DJ as well. It’s all connected.
Wow – it really is all linked. I’m sorry to hear about your experience too, Domie. What an amazing project from Just Be. What about ‘Cockroach’?
*laughs* ‘Cockroach’ isn’t quite as poetic I’m afraid. I was thinking about making a joke that it’s a song named after my ex but I decided not to. Basically, I really like industrial, sort of foley type sounds. I also like having themes and stories behind my songs because then I find it easier to come up with an idea, this is also influence I took from being a big fan of Kate Bush who uses storytelling in her songs (an obscure connection to d&b I know). Obviously cockroaches were the idea for this. There are actual cockroaches sampled, like the scatter you hear are actual cockroaches scattering. I didn’t know until I made this song that cockroaches hiss…
Oh really? That’s cool and also a little horrendous.
Yeah so there are some cockroaches hissing in there too. I just wanted something really disgusting so I could make a really disgusting, dirty tune. The track is being remixed on Phase Records DNB soon too by an artist that I really look up to in the scene, which is pretty exciting.
Domie, as we briefly touched on earlier, you’re 1/6 mentees on the Overview x Dynamics mentorship. Talk to me about this? What does the mentorship entail?
Yeah so every other week we have a session, for example, production lessons where a producer will go through a track they’ve made or go into something more specific like sound design. We recently had a really good lesson with Klinical about sound design, actually which was great. We had GLXY go through one of their tracks with us too, Azifm did a lesson on breaks. Sweetpea was the first person we had a lesson with which was a really nice introduction to the whole mentorship as she’s such a role model in the female mentorship world. We also have group life coaching sessions too, where we discuss confidence, imposter syndrome, motivation, organisation. All things that are really useful. We have some general music industry ones too. It’s really good.
Sounds like a really effective initiative. Big ups to the Overview and Dynamics crew. What advice would you give to women and non-binary people that you wished you’d had at the start of your journey?
I would say don’t succumb to the purist ideas that people put forward. There’s a bit of production snobbery that goes around. For example, a lot of people turn their noses up when other producers use samples. A vocal might be fine but say you sample a bassline or a break, some people can get a bit funny about that. But basically, try to ignore the noise when you’re first starting out. Don’t bite off more than you can chew. If you just want to make some loops with some samples to get your head around things, then do it. Also, look at the arrangement of a load of d&b tunes and you’ll be able to quickly see how it should go. Obviously if you DJ, you’ll know about the arrangements but it’s good to consciously acknowledge the different aspects.
What’s next for you in terms of production?
In terms of production I have a remix incoming on Incurzion Audio and it’s got my spoken word in it, which I’ve been practicing for the last few years. I wanted to use my spoken word over d&b for a while so I’m excited that that will be my official premiere. I also have some exciting collabs dropping in the Summer and at the end of the year which is all I can say on that for now!
Amazing! Tell me more about your spoken word!
I started doing spoken word at university when I used to use spoken word over my films, later on during my production journey I started recording it over d&b too. I did poetry when I was a kid, so it’s always been a part of my life. I’ve never actually performed it live though, yet!
I guess it’s quite a vulnerable thing, so you have to take your time sharing it with the world right?
Exactly. If someone doesn’t like the bassline I make it’s not as personal but if someone’s like ‘oh your lyrics are cringe’ then it’s like urgh, haha. ‘Well – actually – they were written during a very deep and depressing part of my life, so!’
Brilliant. Domie, you’re a full advocate for real change. Off the back of amazing initiatives like Unorthodox and Just Be, do you think the scene is changing and how exactly do you think movements like these are having an impact on the d&b scene?
I do think the scene is changing, for sure. We’re already seeing more women on lineups, although, not enough women on line ups, but it’s better than no change at all. Unorthodox have made some huge movements in queer D&B, that’s for sure. The scene is having more of a zero tolerance attitude towards homophobia. I’ve definitely been seeing more queer people in raves too. I’m not sure if that’s because now I’m a bit more attuned to it but I have definitely been seeing more either way! I’m also noticing promoters doing more to make people feel safe too. Drink covers being a great example. There’s still a lot of work to do unfortunately but things are moving in the right direction with movements like Unorthodox, Just Be, EQ50 doing great work and pushing things forward. There are also groups like Sexy Ladies Massive and Sisterhood Birmingham that I’ve noticed that have been doing bits too. It’s all about representation.
Absolutely. You’re going on tour for Pride with Unorthodox too! What events are on the schedule?
Yes! I’ll be playing at Lakota in Bristol for Little Gay Brother’s afterparty on the 8th of July. This will be our Bristol debut, which is exciting. Then I’ll be playing at the Unorthodox takeover at Volks for Cabarave’s Brighton Pride afterparty event on the 5th of August and last but not least, Unorthodox are doing a takeover at London Pride on the Leicester square stage where I will be performing as a dancer. My mum and dad are coming to London Pride and it’ll be the first time since I’ve come out that I’ll be at a pride event with them, so that’s cool. It’s quite serendipitous as I came out to them live on one of Unorthodox’s live radio shows, so it’s only right that their first experience of Pride with me is associated with Unorthodox!
That’ll be a moment! What can they expect from a full-blown-top of the range Pinks set, Domie?!
Generally speaking, I don’t market myself as a d&b DJ anymore, I market myself as a 160-180 DJ because I don’t just play d&b. I play anything between those BPMs that is energetic. I play basically every genre of drum & bass from liquid to neuro to ragga to scatty, minimal, jungle, techy. Then, I usually drop in some 4×4, techno, footwork, juke, even sometimes phytrance.
All the flavours. Last but not least Domie – we’re ending with the most important question of them all – what’s your all time favourite pastry?
Ha! It would have to be a really good croissant. Yeah. Maybe a Pain au Chocolat. Either or, I’m happy.
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